The Exiles Who Returned

2 These† now are the people of the province who came from those captive exiles King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon† had deported to Babylon.† They returned to Jerusalem and Judah, each to his own town. 2 They came with Zerubbabel,† Jeshua,† Nehemiah, Seraiah,† Reelaiah, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispar, Bigvai, Rehum, and Baanah.

59 The following are those who came from Tel-melah, Tel-harsha, Cherub, Addan, and Immer but were unable to prove that their ancestral families† and their lineage were Israelite:

60 Delaiah’s descendants,

Tobiah’s descendants,

Nekoda’s descendants

652

61 and from the descendants of the priests: the descendants of Hobaiah, the descendants of Hakkoz, the descendants of Barzillai ​— ​who had taken a wife from the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite and who bore their name. 62 These searched for their entries in the genealogical records, but they could not be found, so they were disqualified from the priesthood. 63 The governor† ordered them not to eat the most holy things until there was a priest who could consult the Urim and Thummim.†

Gifts for the Work

68 After they arrived at the Lord’s house in Jerusalem, some of the family heads gave freewill offerings† for the house of God in order to have it rebuilt on its original site. 69 Based on what they could give, they gave 61,000 gold coins,† 6,250 pounds† of silver, and 100 priestly garments to the treasury† for the project. 70 The priests, Levites, singers, gatekeepers, temple servants, and some of the people settled in their towns, and the rest of Israel settled in their towns.†